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US Energy Department Official to Talk about Energy Security, Climate Change

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Daniel Poneman will speak at Duke today (Monday)

Daniel Poneman, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, is visiting with energy students and researchers at Duke today (April 21) before delivering public remarks on "Energy Security in the Era of Climate Change" at the Sanford School of Public Policy.

(The speech will be livestreamed below)

Poneman appears as part of the Energy Speaker Series organized by the Duke University Energy Initiative, an interdisciplinary program focused on educating future leaders, researching to find solutions, and engaging with business and policy decision makers to address three major energy challenges:

  • Meeting growing energy demand to support a competitive and prosperous economy;
  • Reducing the environmental footprint of energy; and
  • Addressing energy security concerns.

The Energy Speaker Series, beginning its second year, has featured a variety of world-class researchers, policy-makers, businesspeople and other leaders involved in energy business, security, policy and other issues.

Climate change poses a growing threat to American energy security, adding an increasingly urgent layer to an already complex geopolitical issue. In his talk at the Sanford School of Public Policy, Poneman will outline the challenges and set out the vision and necessary actions for a future where Americans will drive the innovations and investments that will promote jobs and prosperity while addressing our technological, environmental and security needs.

The address will begin at 5 p.m. Monday at Fleishman Commons at Sanford, preceded by a half-hour reception that will allow audience members time to turn in written questions for Poneman. The event is sponsored by the Energy Initiative, the Sanford School of Public Policy, and the Duke University Program in American Grand Strategy.

Daniel Poneman first joined the Department of Energy as a White House Fellow in 1989. He returned as Deputy Secretary of Energy in 2009. Under the leadership of Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Poneman also served as chief operating officer of the department, and was acting secretary of energy from April 23, 2013, to May 21, 2013, when the current secretary, Ernest Moniz, was sworn in.